The key to Success

Success is everyone’s dream, but then how do you become more successful? To answer the question we need to refer to God's word. What does the bible say about success, because knowing and doing what God say is the key to success. [Joshua 1:8] This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success. God is always ready to to make us more prosperous than we are but to receive that favour we need to have a personal relationship with Him. [Mathew 6:33] But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Here we now know what we need to do, according to God's word, to be successful. But then what is success and how do we measure it. I think most people would consider success as achieving goals, acquiring wealth, and having prestige, favor, status, and power. Success is defined and measured in a different way by God. [I Kings 2:2-3] 2 I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. 3 And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. So God's measure of success is our abedience and faithfulness to him in the face of trials and tribulations. Our loyalty and personal relationship with God should always exist and we are successful if we accomplish His goals in our lives.

[Romans 8:16-18] 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. If we take Jesus according to people's views he was a failure during his time on earth because he had little in material possessions, and did not even own a home. He was rejected by most people, and was even hated by some. However, according to God Jesus was the most successful person to ever live because "the redemption and salvation of all of mankind was accomplished through His son Jesus". By God's grace and great love for you and I, He sent Jesus to pay for our sins, and now the gift of a restored personal relationship with God and eternal life can be ours all because of Jesus Christ. [John 1:12] But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. Because of his accomplishments, Jesus now has the power to give us the right to be children of God. He holds all the authority, status, power, prastige, favour and anything we can think of associated with success. [Ephesians 1:18-23] 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Let us, therefore, aim to stay loyal to God without giving up and seek to be successful according to the will of God and he will see us through because he is faithful. [Galatians 6:9] Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up

God Bless

Judgement passed not guilty

Last weekend I had a chance to attend AFMIM UK Midlands regional Easter conference in Coventry and it was really a blessing. I went there expecting God to speak to me and he did not let me down. There are times when I looked at myself I always saw a dirty person who does not deserve the love that God give me. During the conference I got to understand that we are all saved by grace through faith [John 3: 16-18] 16"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. From the passage it can be seen that we are saved by faith and not works. [Eph. 2:8-9] 8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. I now know that if I have faith then my judgement is passed as not guilty by God's grace.

So to receive God's grace we need to have faith, and to have faith we need to have God's word in our hearts [Romans 10:17] 17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Paul also said that we are all saved through the word of God [1 Cor. 15:2-6] 2and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you unless you believed in vain. 3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

Whenever we hear the word of God we should keep it in our hearts and thrive to seek more as God speak and lead us through his word. [1 John 2:25-27] 25And this is the promise that he made to us eternal life. 26I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie just as it has taught you, abide in him. A true christian life produces righteousness as it is led by Christ himself [Titus 2:11-15] 11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. 15Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

Finally we should always watch out for those people who can distract us in our faith and change God's grace in our lives. [Jude 1:4] 4For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Sao it is easy to be saved, all we need to do is know the word of God and take himon his own word for he is saying [Isaiah 55:11] 11so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty,but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

God Bless

Our time is not God's time

There are times when people pray truly believing that there is God but they seem not to get the response in time. Some people would then think that God has abandoned them or that he did not hear their prayer. The questions I have today are: does God hear our prayers and does he respond to them in time? To answer the question we need to align ourselves with God's thinking [2 Corinthians 5:17] 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come; and realise that God hears our prayers and answers them [2 Corinthians 6:2] 2For he says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

When faced with problems , many people tend to test God instead of trusting Him. We should always put our trust and faith in God for he promised to help us all the way because he loves us and he has the bigger picture [Isaiah 41:13] 13For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand;it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you." God also promise us that whenever we need him he is always there when we look for him earnestily [Jeremiah 29:13] 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Learning to trust God requires learning to stop relying on oneself so much. God knows our heart desires but we must take the step to trust him and stop worrying [John 14:1] 1 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. When we pray, we are to pray in faith. To pray in faith means to stop doubting. When we worry, we are doubting. When we pray fully trusting God, then we are praying in faith. When we hand our problems over to God, we must let go and stop worrying, knowing that he will bring about the best possible solution for all at the right time. We have no need to worry.

God Bless

Be still and Know that I am God [Psalm 46:10]

Due to some circumstances beyond my control I have not been able to publish some postings the last ten days. Today I decided to find out who God is in my life. God works in our lives everyday blessing us in many ways. [Exodus 3:14] 14God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.

God has names which reveal Him as meeting every single of our needs and these names are:

Jehovah-Jireh (the Lord that provides)
[Genesis 22:13-14] 13And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."

Jehovah-Rapha (the Lord that healeth)

[Exodus 15:26] 26saying, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer."

Jehovah-Nissi (the Lord our banner)

[Exodus 17:8-15] ....14Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." 15And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner,

[Galatians 5:17] 17For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Jehovah-Shalom (the Lord our peace)

[Judges 6:24] 24Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

[Genesis 2:1-5] 1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Jehovah-Ra-ah (the Lord my shepherd)

[Psalm 23.] The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures.He leads me beside still waters. 3He restores my soul.He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Jehovah-Tsidkenu (the Lord our righteousness)

[Jeremiah 23:6] 6In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'

Jehovah-Shammah (the Lord is present)

[Ezekiel 48:35] 35The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There." [Exodus 33:14-15] 14And he said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." 15And he said to him, "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.

Jehovah Elohim (God Our Creator)

[Genesis 1:1] 1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth

Jehovah El Shaddai (God our Supplier)

[Genesis 17:1-2] 1When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly."

Jehovah Adonai (Master, Lord)

[Genesis 18:3] 3and said, "O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.

Jehovah M'kadesh (God my Sanctifier)

[Exodus 31:13] 13"You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, 'Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.

If we have needs that we need met nomatter how big and complicated they may look, always remember that God is able. [Philippians 4:19] 19And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

G0d Bless

Christianity In The Face Of Religion

Today I woke up feeling ill with my face swollen and it was clear that my faith is being tested. I should have slept and spend the whole day in bed feeling sorry for myself but i decided that life is too short to put to waste. I do believe that I have far too many things to accomplish and by the Grace of God I will get there. I switched on my PC and started listening to some music. As I was listening, a song from one of my favourite Zimbabwean singer was played. The song was talking about the Samaritan woman who came to Jesus and asked him where people should go to worship.

I opened my Bible to look up the scripture and I was touched when I read the passage. The reply Jesus gave provoked my thinking. [John 4:21-24] 21Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." If I were to ask many people today about their religion they would reply without hesitation that they are Christians, but is it true. I have asked my self if I am a true Christian or am I merely being just religious, the category that many people fall into today.

But then what does it take to be a true Christian?

In our lives as Christians we should thrive to leave our lives as Christ taught us. For many people to adopt the name Christians, occasionally going to church and once in a while praying is enough to be a true Christian but that is far from the truth and many people do not know that. People must seek the truth as ignorance simply does not excuse anyone [Hosea 4:6] My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. We should always be careful not to be addicted by the religious behaviour and forget to worship the true God, rather than worshipping our Churches [Exodus 20:3] You shall have no other gods before me. It is good to go to church, but it should not be seen as an end to christian life, but the beginning to salvation. [Matthew 7:21-23] 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

• To be a christian we need to love God [Romans 8:28] 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose, [Mt 22:37-40] 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
• Praise God all the time. [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18] 16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. [Psalm 100:1-5] 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs... 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
• Repent [2 Corinthians 7:10] 10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. [Acts 3:19] 19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord [Luke 13:5] 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish
• Pray earnestly [Ephesians 6:18] 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints, [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18] 16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. [Psalms 55:17] 17 Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice,
• Confess [1 John 1:9] 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness [James 5:16] The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective
• Forgive [Mark 11:22-25] 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins [Matthew 6:12-15] 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you
• Depend or Trust on God and STOP helping him, [Jeremiah 17:7-8] 7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him, [Isaiah 40:31] 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint [Philippians 4:11-13] I can do everything through him who gives me strength, [Psalm 37:3-4] 3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart

Remember always that Jesus is saying to you today If you love me, you will obey what I command [John 14:15]

God Bless

I do

The journey started after I said I Do to Christ, it was a decision that I do not regret making until this day because i know that he cares [Jeremiah 29:11] "11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I hope that my journey will also help you grow in faith, and strengthen your relationship with our Lord. My strength is in God's love and I know that he will always love me no matter what I do. [John 3:16] "16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

I know that the battle I have started is a long and hard one but by the Grace and Mercies of God I will endure and overcome all trials. Today is such a great day for me to make such a bold decision to take my armor and walk straight towards the battle field. [Ephesians 6:10-17] "......put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes......" I hope you will help me pray that i will not be distracted with anything but put on my trust for it is only by prayer that we can overcome temptation "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." [Luke 22:40]; "13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." [1 Corinthians 10:13].

Some people may want to know why I have taken this step and share my spiritual life with the world, the truth is, I believe that God is working in my life transforming me into the person he wants me to be. It is my prayer that God also works through me bringing his peace, love and Joy to many.

As I am signing off for today I would like to leave you with the following verses to strengthen you in Jesus:

[Revelation 3:20] Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

[John 14:23] Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

[Philippians 4:6-7] Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

[2 Thessalonians 3:16] Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

God Bless